The Secret World: Entering a Secret
by FaerieKnight197
Summary: Finding the diary was just the beginning


**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Secret World, it belongs to Funcom. I write this for fun, not for profit.

Entering A Secret

By

Faerie Knight

From the secret diaries of Faerie

 _I leave this record for those who are yet to come. If you are reading this, it means I failed. It means I am likely dead. Who I am makes no difference. Call me Janet if you must. It's not my name, not my real name anyway. However it will do. I am a warrior with a important task. I Shepard the world towards true balance, weather it wants me to or not._

Today I have finished my training. No longer am I merely an initiate. I have taken on my code name today, and been told more of our mission. Faerie, that's what they call me now. They chose this code name because I take my work just as seriously as I take my fun. And frequently I find ways to combine them. I've been given an envelope containing my orders. I'm not to open it until after I am home.

Interesting. Some new force is appearing. A dangerous one at that. Things which can only be classified as 'monsters'. And I'm suppose to investigate a group here in Dubuque. Hmm, no backup being offered? No weapons other then what I already have? This can't be good. Fortunatly I do have things from my former life. Throwing knives and spikes, as well as an assortment of daggers and swords.

I've selected one of the sturdier of the swords and sharpened it. A subtle twisting of the chi I've imbued in it, and it's imperceptible to normal people. I've done the same with the throwing knives and dagger I'm taking with me. I hope their not needed. I fear however they will be. There's been a rash of disappearances in Jackson Park lately. The police are baffled. This is where I'll start my search.

 _June 6th  
I spent last night observing the park. What I witnessed is a little disturbing. There have long been women of questionable morals plying their trade in that park. The new ones however bear watching. I saw one of them change into a wolf before my eyes. Loup Garu, I'd heard of them. The tales make them out to be vicious monsters who attack on site. This one seems different._

Believing this to be the cause of the disappearances, I followed it. The wolf shows a remarkable level of caution for a savage killer. And restraint. Rather then going on a rampage, the wolf stayed in the shadows. The only thing it hunted were cats and trash bags. The fact Loup Garu are here bears watching. This though doesn't seem to be the cause.

I returned to the park to continue my vigil. Nothing else seems to have happened. Although, I did get a sense of dread at one point. Something was watching me. This too will need investigation. I've set wards on the room I'm in. If some force was watching me, it may attack while I sleep.

 _June 13th  
They are watching me. I'm sure of it now. I'm still not sure who They are yet, but I know I'm in danger. This city is in danger. The signs all point to one conclusion. An attack is coming. Perhaps I'm getting too far ahead of myself though. I must think. I must collect my thoughts. Find the pattern so that I may unravel Their plans before it's too late._

I'd been keeping an eye on the park again. The Loup Garu was there again. Then she fell over, dead. At first I was unsure what had happened. There was no gunfire after all. Investigating the body, I found a small object embedded in the creature's back. It had no tip, and the sharpened end glistened. Poison most likely. At first I thought it a blow dart, but the design was more that of an arrow. Yet another mystery to solve.

Since this lead had died, quite literally, I decided to investigate the unknown attacker. Was this perhaps the cause of the disappearances? The more I learned, the more I came to believe it so. I shall not name this group, for to name it invites too much trouble. Suffice to say, precautions needed to be taken least I become one of the missing.

It had taken several days to track down where their lair was. I began my assault by throwing a custom designed smoke grenade laced with sodium. This would hopefully give me enough advantage to be able to take down the den. How I wished I could call in backup. But no, I had to deal with this alone.

What I found in there was unexpected. There was blood everywhere, as well as the foul stench of decay. No bodies could be seen though. On the wall was a message addressed to me.

 _We know all about you Faerie. Soon you too shall join our ranks._

 _I've transmitted my report, and my superiors have said to continue investigating this lead. I am scared. I've found a clue, and tonight will investigate it. But I fear I wont make it back. Whoever is reading this, beware the growing darkness. The threat is real. The Balance has been broken._

As the young woman read the final line she shuddered. She'd found the book hidden behind a panel in her bedroom. Along with it was an odd medallion and some strange symbol. A series of numbers had been carved into the back of the medallion. A code perhaps? The woman frowned. Perhaps the key to this code was somewhere in the diary. As she began to work on the code the woman knew this had been left for her to find. Until two days ago there had been no such secret compartment.

For several weeks the woman had worked on the suspected cipher. It was slow going. Fortunately there was enough use of the cipher in the diary to give her usable samples. The end result of her code breaking though puzzled her. A web site? Why would there be a web address written in code? No matter, this was just one more step in the path most likely.

Over the past weeks she'd started to get the feeling she was being watched. This was actually pretty disturbing. She'd considered telling the police, but she swore a squad car had actually followed her for thirteen blocks. No, this she had to deal with on her own. The local library had internet access. She'd go there.

The next day found the woman sitting before a computer screen at her local library. Quickly she typed a web address, , and frowned. It looked like a website dedicated to some computer game. Then she noticed several things which tied into the diary. Symbols which appeared briefly, then vanished as if never there. And an insignia which struck her as odd. She hovered the mouse over that spot in the hopes of getting the image location link.

Nothing happened, although something told her clicking there might be worth doing. After left clicking on that the screen went black. This lasted about twenty seconds before the game site reloaded. This was plenty of time for her though. She'd seen something just before the screen went black. Something she didn't quite believe. This would take looking into.

She was sitting at home studying a map. As she looked at it the woman thought. Why here? What was at this location that is so important? She had plenty of vacation time left. She could also afford a trip. But why this place? And why was the location so obscurely hidden behind vague and enigmatic clues? The more she learned, the more curious the woman was becoming. And the more frightened she became.

She was now sure someone was watching her. Following her. She still didn't know who though. Or why. She'd thought about abandoning this whole thing. But then another thought occurred to the woman. If she did, what if whoever was following her did something? What if her life is in danger? The people the diary had mentioned, maybe they could help her? But what if they were the ones after her now?

It was impossible to tell. All she could do was move forward. She'd found a name to go with the location. It made no sense though. Tomorrow she would take her plane trip. She would continue looking into this in another country. Her passport was in order. Everything was looking good. She just hoped she'd survive the mystery.

As the woman stepped off the plane she sighed with relief. Several times during boarding she was sure she'd be stopped. There were suspicious looking men who she could swear had been following her. At almost ever step she could swear she saw something moving just out of the corner of her eye. When she'd look though there would be nothing. Surely it was just her imagination?

No, it couldn't be. Trashcans would appear in places there had been none before. She would see a potted plant which was the wrong shade of green. At one point she could have sworn a poster had winked at her. It had to be her nerves. That was it. She was stressed. Posters couldn't wink. That was impossible.

Her flight had gotten delayed three times while waiting. By the third time she was sure someone was doing it deliberately. But who? The woman desperately wanted to know who was stalking her. No, she needed to know. She'd already reached the point of no return, although she knew it not. Finally she'd managed to board her plane.

The flight it's self too had been nerve wracking. Who could she trust? Who was following her? Were they here now? Not knowing made it even harder. What made her finally relax was that no one tried following her as she exited the plane. Even the almost glimpses had stopped. In one hand she held an English to Korean dictionary. In the other she carried her suit case. She looked out upon the city of Seoul and knew, now she was in a whole other world. One with many secrets. One of which she sought.

On the surface, the building she was looking at was nothing special. It was impressive to be sure. These old buildings always were. And the history that these walls must contain humbled her. For centuries monks had lived in these walls. That didn't explain to the woman how it was she had been lead to this building. She stepped inside, and it was like entering another world again.

She wandered the halls speaking to those she met. This seemed like a normal Buddhist monastery. When she went to the bathroom though something odd happened. As she used the facilities a sign rearranged it's lettering before her eyes. Suddenly it said 'All is not what it seems. Ask of dragons.' Then the sign was back to it's original message. This spooked the woman something fierce.

She stumbled out of the room and bumped into a monk. She was babbling almost incoherently. Still he made out the word 'dragons'. Unbeknown to the woman, her life was now in jeopardy. Men and women all around her had started reaching for pistols she hadn't noticed. Eyes all around her opened wide as the image of a jade dragon appeared above her head.

"I bring you a new hatchling, and a warning. Dark days are coming. Tee hee hee. You should see your faces! Tee hee hee."

The dragon vanished as the creator lost focus. Instead they could see a six inch tall woman with butterfly wings hovering an inch above the woman's head. Seeing this, everyone chuckled. Upon realizing that she was visible, the winged woman vanished. Giggling could be heard still though.

XxXxX

Two weeks later Alex was checking the various blogs he read. One of them was done by his kid sister, and he enjoyed her writings. The past few months his sister's blog had been taking on a paranoid tone which worried him. He'd tried calling her, but there was no answer. There was a new update. As he read it Alex grew even more worried for his sister.

 _To my loyal readers, this is my last update. Starting next week my site, Mysteries of Life will be closed to the public. Things have come up which are taking all my attention. Sorry, but this is good bye. And to my loving brother, take care. I may not see you again._

The last thing he noticed upon finishing the blog was odd. A set of letters, DDAC. His expression darkened. Reading this twice again, he picked up his phone. After pressing a button on the side of the phone, he dialed.

"No Sir, I haven't retrieved the diary. I know who has it though. No sir, I can't get it right now. Yes Sir. No Sir, I understand. The person with the diary is family. I understand. I wont let that deter me. She knows. I don't know how she found out, but she knows. Very well Sir."

He hung up the phone. After striking his fist against the desk he cried softly. This was the last time he would cry for his sister. From that day forth she was dead to him. She was family no longer. Now she was the Enemy. He closed his web browser and switched to a secured network connection. As he connected once more to the internet a blue triangle could be seen on his computer screen.

 _To Be Continued?_

 **Author Notes:** I wrote this back when The Secret World was still in closed beta testing. I was part of the forums set up as an Augmented Reality style viral campaign. Stumbled across the forums in fact when I followed some rather devious clues. Fun game, in my opinion. The fact that it has puzzles that make you think and that reference real web sites just enhances that to me. Anyway, at the time nobody on the forums had any real clue what the setup for your characters was going to be. The three factions (Dragon, Illuminate, and Templar) was known, and the idea that every myth and conspiracy theory is true for the game's world setting. But not much besides that was known.

So I wrote this short story to tell how my planned Dragon character joins the faction. It's not really compatible with the in-game way you join. And I've since decided this story tells the story of how the previous person to use the code name Faerie joined the faction, not the character Faerie16 I play in TSW. I've created a bit of lore for my character that each person who takes up the code name Faerie is introduced to the secret world when they find the journal of the previous Faerie. Just thought you may be interested in that little background for this tale.


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